Archives for
August 2013

Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories. Motorola’s Moto X phone has arrived, with great ...

There was a time, namely the second half of 2011, when retailers thought Facebook and other social media channels would become major storefronts for their platforms. "We expect Facebook will become a major channel of commerce," Alex Bolen, CEO of Osc...

Apple recently acquired a small company that specializes in designing communications chips that use very little power, Passif Semiconductor. The purchase gives Apple more resources to tap for its venture into wearable computing, which appears inevita...

Welcome to college. It's a world where careful planning means sleeping until noon every day and no outfit is too skimpy for a Halloween party. It's a place of eternal pajama pants, Ramen noodles that flow like the proverbial milk and honey of the Pro...

Russia granted Edward Snowden a year's worth of refugee status on Thursday, and that may be just enough time to determine whether America's most prominent dissident will achieve his stated goal of dismantling the National Security Agency's "architect...

"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll." This was the phrase that MTV launched with 32 years ago on Aug. 1. The year was 1981 and MTV played The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" as the channel's first music video, followed by Pat Benatar's "You B...

The amount of time Americans spend consuming digital media is set to eclipse the amount of time spent watching television for the first time this year. According to an eMarketer study released Thursday, Americans spend four hours and 40 minutes onlin...

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)'s Marissa Mayer is boosting the company's research unit, which was downsized under her predecessor -- betting on emerging technologies from big data to artificial intelligence. Yahoo Labs has hired 30 researchers with PhDs in 2013 ...

If you host your website on Bluehost, HostMonster, HostGator or JustHost, your site is probably down or experiencing issues. The three hosting brands are all divisions of Endurance International Group. The outage appears to be related to server maint...

The Department of Justice and 33 attorneys general handed Apple a series of proposals on Friday to make amends for e-book price fixing. Chief among the recommendations is a five-year ban on making new e-book distribution contracts with five major pub...

Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate are making Ender's Game fans battle on social media to earn an exclusive preview of the science-fiction film's final trailer. The mission, if you choose to accept it, begins at IF-BattleSchool.com, a new site the st...

Motorola and Google unveiled the much-anticipated Moto X smartphone Thursday, Motorola's newest flagship phone and the first product developed under the auspices of both companies. The smartphone has been hailed by some as a major competitor to the i...

Yahoo's epic acquisition binge continued on Friday with the purchase of social browser maker Rockmelt. Rockmelt announced the move on its blog: "Yahoo and Rockmelt share a common goal: To help people discover the best content from around the web." Al...

One hundred thirty million people share photos and videos on Instagram every month, many of them posting their favorite hobbies, locations, and brands. Users share 45 million photos per day. One app is connecting you with brands to get rewards for th...

"America's Next Top Model is ..." Everyone has heard the phrase. Whether you're a diehard fan that was rooting for Allison Harvard during cycle 12 (and the all-stars cycle), or casually stumbled upon a VH1 marathon of the show, America's Next Top Mod...

Siros Ardestani just wanted to take a photo with one of his favorite NBA players. But Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard just wanted to shop in peace. So Lillard turned down a recent photo request from the young fan while out and about earlier...

Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to fugitive National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is a blow to President Barack Obama's desire to "reset" U.S. relations with its Cold War enemy. The Russian action puts in doubt a summit planned f...

It may not be able to connect to anything but state-sanctioned websites, and only offers a limited selection of apps (such as Angry Birds Rio). But the Samjiyon tablet, manufactured and released in North Korea last year, does have at least one novel ...

For the first time this year, the amount of time Americans spend consuming digital media is set to eclipse the amount of time spent watching TV. Instead of driving to movie theaters, more people are cozying up on their couches with laptops and tablet...

Now the Apple Store app comes with a little extra oomph: a free download. Starting Friday, Apple will offer one free app, iTunes download or iBook every week through its iOS app. The app is traditionally used to purchase physical items from Apple’s s...

It takes talent to create art from pen and paper, but it takes some serious creativity to create art using favorite childhood toy. Author, illustrator and photographer Chris McVeigh masters this in his new series, "Brick Sketches," created entirely f...

Looking to venture into great outdoors but not quite ready to go on a total tech detox? The Katabatic solar-powered tent might be the camping product you've been waiting for. Released by Eddie Bauer in collaboration with Goal Zero, the Katabatic tent...

During the week, we consume words in snackable, tweetable bites. But on the weekends, we have the time to take a dive into the murkier, lengthier depths of the Internet and expand our attention spans beyond 140 characters. We can brew a cup of coffee...

Schenectady High School students got a lesson on their generation's lingo when filmmaker Jason Pollock recently gave the commencement speech to the graduating class. Pollock schooled the seniors on his favorite rapper Drake's three popular catchphras...

Getting bored with your household DIY projects? Consider making a private jet. Wisconsin-based aircraft company Sonex is selling a single-seat jet, but you'll need a toolkit to assemble it. The fast facts: It travels at over 200 miles per hour with a...

If you've spent much time online over the past couple weeks, chances are you've come across some contagiously charming Vine videos of a heavyset, precocious young boy working his impressive dance moves and generally displaying inhuman levels of swag....

A startup has designed a platform that aggregates data from select fitness, health and social networking apps you're already using and rewards you with points for healthy behavior. San Francisco-based AchieveMint currently integrates with platforms l...

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